Tuesday, April 25, 2006

lots of stuff!!!

ok, sorry to be long-winded but I feel like i have a lot to write about so this may be long.. ill try to keep it interesting.
1- when looking for medicine for diarreah no one likes to go into the store and say "hey what can you give me for diarreah" eventually after about 4 or 5 days of intestinal problems i caved in and went to the local farmacia. of course i said i needed something for "stomach ache and diarreah". she told me she had one medicine for each of those symptoms, so i pretty much was forced to ask for diarreah medicine. boy was it good though.. i felt like drinking the whole bottle, i could feel my body accepting it.. since then ive been fine.

2- i have some random "wierd" or maybe better put, differences, about living here that I want to jot down real quick- 1.the stars are all different, or aligned differently 2. its fall here.. its weird to see the trees changing color and falling off 3. everyone kisses on the cheek when greeting each other.. yes, even guys greeting guys.

3. last night before i got in the shower the people i am staying with told me there was a slight electrical problem and that electricity was running through the walls, and that when taking a shower i should be careful not to touch any metal and be sure to shower in my flip flops or i would get shocked... that is just the news you want to hear, especially when u think of the fact that here they use 220 volts instead of 110.

4.i went to malvinas, which is about 20 minutes outside of town to go meet jorge and some other people. first i went to a house with 3 kids that i met last year. their names are kevin, german and evelin. i tought them to throw the frisbee and it was kewl cuz they remembered me from last year. i left the frisbee with them and told them to practice till i come back. then i went to jorgeĀ“s house. jorge was saved last june and i had heard he was not going to church so i wanted to see him. he was home this time and i spoke with him briefly.. i didnt have too much time but i wanted to encourage him and i told him that i wanted to meet with him further. i dont want to force him to meet with me, yet at the same time i want to make myself available for him.. i gave him my number, so hopefully he will contact me. if he doesnt, i will go visit him again maybe in 2 weeks. i showed him a book, called no wonder they call him savior, and i said he could have it on the condition that he would read it, and he did take it so i hope he reads it. the problem is that the church where he lives is very small and there really isnt anyone his age so he really has a hard time wanting to go there. he works as a janitor at a nice theater, or a place where they have orchestra and plays. please pray for him.. i challenged him briefly about the fact that the world tells us to live one way, but as Christians we should not listen to the world.. but, if he is living on his own, with no one to help him, then it would be tough to not allow the world to influence him.... when i was saying this he began to tear up some, i think it hit home.... it was crazy cuz i felt like i wasnt even thinking about what to say, god was just telling me what he needed to hear....

5. 10k race. i did a 10k race on sunday morning. it was a great day to run. there was about 500 runners i think. it was absolutely crazy cuz right after i checked in i looked around and i saw what was definitely 2 girls from the united sates sitting on a bench. they were students from clemson, wich is about 20 miles away from the headquarters of commission international. another girl also joined them. it was kewl to meet people from the US. they encouraged me bucause they said they had noticed a HUGE need here among the university students. they were all different religions but said they were having big trouble finding a church to go to. i invited them to come to rincon church, the church i am going to right now in the neigborhood i am staying in. i hope they come sometime.. who knows, maybe God will use me as a missionary to united states people here. i dont really have a way to contact them though, but they did tell me where they run everyday so maybe i can join them. also, i met a guy who wanted to run with me sometime.. i also hope he contacts me.. i would have gotten his number so i can contact him, but i didnt have a pen or my phone. he has my e-mail though in his cell phone.

6. apartments.. im kind of in a "holding pattern" right now... im kind of geting ancy to move.. as i feel i am wearing out my welcome with the people i am staying with, although they want me to stay for another month. also though, even if i do find an apartment i need a propriedad, which is someone that has property to vouch for me... there is one guy who is going to help us with this, the only thing is he wants to wait until david fulfer comes at the end of may... the thing is that the people dont know me real well, so i cant just go to someone and ask them to do that for me.

Friday, April 21, 2006

howdy

hey everyone. i realized that on my post titled good friday, i made a mistake on my address.. i left out the city.. cordoba.. it goes before argentina.. i fixed it so if u want to see the whole address go to the good friday post... again this is a TEMPORARY address.
im running a 10k race this weekend.. i dont know if running down here is big or not, so it should be interesting. i hope to at least meet some people who might have the same interest.
prayer requests:
1.ive had stomach and digestion problems on and off for about 4 days now so i hope that gets better..
2. ive been trying to contact this guy jorge that i met last year but so far have yet to get ahold of him.. i hope to do some kind of discipleship with him.
3. apartments.. they are saying in order to rent a place i need to have a collateral gaurantee.. you have to have someone that owns a house vouch for you.. most people use someone in their family, obviously i dont have family that owns property in argentina... it will work out one way or another i hope.
chao
scott

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

pictures

here are some pics... in case you are wondering.. i have been hanging out with guys too, but guys never want to take pictures...
me and stefi at park sarmiento


me, maria elena, and natalia (nati for short)

maria elena and nati

the house i am staying at

my room!

the kitchen!

Monday, April 17, 2006

lamb kidneys???!!!!!

so this past saturday i had a very typical argentine day.
i got up and had some tea with bread for breakfast. then i went to julieta barros house for lunch. when someone invites you for lunch it is LUNCH. julie is a girl at the rincon church who is 27, and she has a 19 yr old sister named stefani and a brother named douglas who is 16. they all live together and it was a fun time. they cooked chicken and potatos. then we feasted on some ice cream. the ice cream here is really good. it took about 2 hours or more for lunch.. they talk at the table eating for a long time. then we decided to go to the park. we took our mate (pronounced ma-tay) which is green tea which is drunk from a special container. we relaxed in the park and i taught stefi and julieta how to throw a frisbee... it was a good time. then we went home (on the way home we listened to the 2 local soccer teams that were playing each other that day, talleres verses belgrano), got ready for church and had a good church service. after church they invited me back to their place for dinner. the father had cooked up a whole lamb, along with some potato salad. the lamb ribs were good. he put a round piece of meat on my plate and i tried it... i probably would have to cuss to say how aweful it tasted.. it was like eating trash.. it turned out that it was the kidney! that is one thing i hope to never taste again. then after the meat and potatos there was some ice cream. then after the ice cream there was coffee. by then it was midnight and time to go home. oh yeah! that reminds me of one more thing... when julie stopped to fill up, she explained to me that she can use gas or natural gas, so because natural gas was cheaper she bought that... they stuck this hose into the front of the car and filled it up.. that was so crazy.. she has a switch on the car so she can switch between regular gas and natural gas... CRAZY!
chao
scott
ps would any girls in the US listen to soccer on the AM dial?????

Friday, April 14, 2006

good friday

well, its easter weekend here in argentina.. and all over the world for that matter.
man, i could really write a lot right now... ill just write a few things that come to mind..
first, i got a cell phone here.. i converted my US cell phone to work here. in order for it to work you have to buy these phone cards and charge your phone with minutes by pressing in a pin number...
from the us i could never figure out how to call a cell phone here.. you are welcome to give it a try...
you would have to dial 011 54 351 614 6539 my actual cell phone number is 156146539 its complicated because there is a country code.. i think for argentina it is 54 and then there is a cordoba city code which is 3514 or something
running.. i have run a couple of times.. it is hard cuz the streets are all busy and the sidewalks are pretty messed up. you have to constantly watch out for cars.
oh yeah, that brings me to the streets... its hard to get around.. mainly cuz i have no idea where i am.. i am usually decent with directions but i am always getting turned around. a few reasons why its crazy.. 1, the street names can change suddenly, 2, the streets in some neghborhoods run east-west and north-south but in others they run northeast-southwest and vice versa... 3 the blocks are pretty short so they have tons of streets to memorize..
i had a decent religious discussion with a couple of girls that were at the shop where i got my cell phone... i had to go into the store like 3 times in 2 days cuz of different things i needed to do before i could get it activated, so i spent a while in there and of course they were wondering what i was doing there.. they were both college students.. one was an athiest and one believed in god but didnt have any specific beliefs about her god... they both said there are many atheists in the area and they said that the priests were bad.. i dont know what they meant by bad.
we talked about religion for a while.. i didnt feel lead to like witness to them, just to share about my faith and what kind of lives they lived.. i think i will go back and drop off the case for christ in spanish or maybe more than a carpenter.. i need to find these books in spanish.
eating.. the food isnt the healthiest but it is good.. i am eating a lot of empanadas.. which are like meat pies and also a lot of pizza... ive eaten pizza 3 times allready.
a cold front came through.. it is wierd because the cold fronts come from the south.. and the temperature is in centegrade. so getting used to weather forcasts is funny.
i cant wait till my north american friends get here.. at least i will be able to share in the same struggle with them as being in a whole new place and culture.
next week i will look for an apartment, then i will have an address for people to write to me.. if you really want to send something.. you can send it to my TEMPORARY address. scott jackson, 568 mejico, barrio general paz, c.p. 5000, Cordoba Argentina (after each comma would be a new line)
or if you really need to call you can call the number of the house i am staying at.
it is 011 54 3514 4524539
if you go to www.callingcards.com you can buy a calling card to call argentina for about 3 to 5 cents per minute.
chao
un beso
scott

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

a week of firsts!!!

i want to send out a quick update on my first few days here in Argentina. After 3 flights i made it smoothly to Cordoba. I gathered all my things, made it through customs.... then i didnt see anyone i knew at the airport.. i was bombarded by taxi drivers, who obviously knew that i was looking pretty lost with no ride. My friends did eventually show up, they slept in!!! They made it up to me quickly by cooking me some nice food. The food here is really good. they eat a lot of beef and italian food. so far lunch has been typically at 2 to 3 and dinner is like at 11 at night. in the morning and late afternoon there is time for a quick bread and tea or coffee. last night i tried to play a smaller version of soccer that is played on a basketball court.. lets just say there is room for improvement. it kinda feels like i am on a vacation, cuz my schedule is all thrown off and i am staying with a couple and there is a lot of exploring to do. the couple i am staying with have a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment and they left this morning for a 2 week vacation so i will be staying there myself. My "street" spanish lessons are going good. i am learning more and more... i would learn faster if english was not used so much here... they listen to american music and like to practice english, so my brain is constantly going back and forth.. it would be better if i was under constant spanish. lets see.. i have found that i have to find a balance when it comes to missing everything and everyone in the US.
if i think about it too much then i will feel bad and sad, but i also dont want to just forget it all together. The people here are awesome. i cant wait till david fulfer comes in late may. right now for me is just getting plugged into culture.. but i know the work will begin soon for outreach. lets see.. the weather is awesome here.. 60 at night and 80 and sunny during the day. in may it will begin to get colder. if you have any questions about any other details let me know.. my abilty to get on the net right now is hit or miss... but hopefully in due time i will be able to update this regularly. chao, un brazo. (that means bye, and a hug.. that is how they end conversations here)
sj
ps i shaved my beard off yesterday.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

a week of "lasts"


not that I am leaving forever, or will never see my friends here in Dallas, but this past week I have had some "lasts".. like my last meeting with the 9th grade guys on tuesday night. My last run at White Rock Lake with one of my best friends, Shannon Neffendorf, my last American meals, etc.